The son of an army officer, Fonseca was trained for a military career. He distinguished himself in the Paraguayan War (1864–70) and subsequently rose to the rank of general. Named field marshal in 1884 and both military commander in and administrative head of Rio Grande do Sulestado (state) after 1886, he viewed himself as the heir to the duke of Caxias as Brazil’s leading military figure. Although he was politically conservative and personally loyal to the emperor, he felt that it was his duty as an officer to protest the despotic acts of the government and insist that his fellow officers had a right to express their political views. Declared insubordinate by Pedro II, Fonseca headed the military revolt of Nov. 15, 1889, which established Brazil as a republic. He served as provisional president until February 1891, when he was elected president by the constituent assembly, a body largely controlled by the generals. As president, Fonseca was both arbitrary and ineffective. When he attempted to rule by decree, he was forced to resign in November 1891.

Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca, who had led the coup, became provisional president of the military-led government with the support of the nascent middle class and the prosperous coffee planters. He established a republic, separated the powers of church and state, and on February 24, 1891, promulgated a new constitution that combined elements of presidential, federal, democratic, and republican forms...